By Kameron Brooke | Reporter
At some point, we’ve all probably kept some sort of diary or journal — it’s OK, you can admit it. It’s not a bad thing. Whether it’s been kept up with consistently is another discussion, but overall, keeping a journal gives you a safe place where you have the luxury of being truly honest without the worry of a reaction.
In my experience, I have always been someone who loves to talk and express my thoughts. Keeping a journal was always second nature to me. As my thoughts come, I put them on paper and then let them go. I’ve had over 30 journals in my life, and each one reflects a different phase through growth, pain and happiness.
Journaling has become such an essential practice to me that I can’t go a day without it. Why would you want to do that? A valid question — and you certainly don’t have to — but journaling does encourage mindfulness, which helps you to be present, keep perspective and regulate emotions.
According to the Greater Good Magazine, “people had been keeping diaries long before scientists thought to put them under microscopes. But in the past 30 years, hundreds of studies uncovered the benefits of putting pen to paper with your deepest thoughts and feelings.”
Journaling is a simple practice that provides so many benefits and can open doors to other aspects of a healthy lifestyle. Getting started is simple: Make an effort to write every day. If you set aside a few minutes every day to write, it will help make a habit of journaling.
There’s no right or wrong way to keep one; write whatever feels good to you, as it is your private place to discuss and create whatever you want. There is truly power in opening up.
I understand why many people avoid journaling. It can be scary to face ourselves, not only confronting which external factors brought negativity into our lives but also being honest about the negativity we may have brought into someone else’s life.
It almost seems better to keep one’s emotions inside or to let them pass, and they will eventually pass, but they will always come again. So, it’s extremely beneficial to pursue a greater sense of meaning through journaling.
It’s important to understand journaling is a problem-solving tool. The negative emotions you were feeling prior to writing may still linger, and the problem may still exist. That being said, journaling forces you to organize your thoughts instead of having a collection of ideas and emotions circling in your mind.
A major part of our decision-making lies in our subconscious and intuition, which can be difficult to access, so working through one’s thoughts on a page creates clarity and makes us better at making conscious decisions.
Journaling is certainly not a guaranteed fit for everyone; it takes all types of people to make the world go round. However, this is one practice that is guaranteed to bring benefits. Hopefully, keeping a journal can even be the source of inspiration, self-acceptance, encouragement and problem-solving it has been for me for so many years.
I’ve seen the darkest and brightest parts of myself through my journals, and it has allowed for an immense amount of self-acceptance. We all have strengths and weaknesses; it’s important to understand what they are in order to improve our lives and how we function in each other’s lives.
I encourage everyone to keep a journal. It warms my heart to see fellow humans practicing something so beneficial. Having read this piece, if you’re not online ordering your next journal right now, what are you doing? Practice makes permanent.
